


Late for a very important date

by HeyShakeALeg



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: ???? - Freeform, AGAIN THIS IS NOT INCEST, Angst, Awkward, Blood, Clocks, GET OUTTA MY HOUSE WITH THAT SHIT, Injury, JUST, Kinda, M/M, Near Death Experience, Relationship Growth, and bad times, but not really its just dt, doin their thang, i think, okok, so uh, the clocks don't match up, they don't know each other very well now, two scientists, which is awkward socializing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-05
Updated: 2017-09-05
Packaged: 2018-12-24 05:42:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12006255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeyShakeALeg/pseuds/HeyShakeALeg
Summary: Sans actually isn't late for anythingGaster just falls down a rabbit holeOf bad decisionsB)





	Late for a very important date

**Author's Note:**

> I know its ridiculous to have the clocks dysfunctional in the e n t i r e underground   
> I'm just an idiot And thought it was a good idea at 5 am

The clocks in the Underground never worked. They hardly ever matched up due to monsters constantly changing the time displays. Some said their clocks ran too fast and would turn them back, others stated theirs were too slow and would turn them forward. On the rare occasion older monsters stated they wanted to display the time it was in the surface and they would turn it to something random. Of course because of this all the clocks would have varying times. Best case, an area would have similar time zones. Worse case, monsters in areas would constantly bicker about who has the correct time.

Either way, this made planning anything hellish.

Sans checked his watch as he walked toward the Lab, carrying a bag of different tools and prototypes he prepared the night before. It was 2:30 pm sharp, just as Doctor Gaster had requested he showed up. Sans smiled, glad he could be punctual for work at least once.

He came to a slow stop when he read a note stuck on the door, the writing on it dainty and small.

Performing renovations on the Core. Everyone have a good day off.  
-W.D. Gaster

Sans made a little huff, deflating after being so proud of arriving on time. He looked down at his watch again and rubbed the back of his neck. 2:34. The Doctor had went to Sans, and personally asked him to be at the Lab at 2:30 pm. He recalled the moment and felt his chest tighten, the giddy rush Sans felt before was long gone. The idea of showing the scientist some of his personal projects had been too good to be true.

With a sigh Sans hesitantly turned his back to the door and began to head towards Snowdin, having no real clue how he would spend the rest of his freed afternoon. Sans could always just go home and work more, perfect his little projects.

Doctor Gaster would tell him to take a break if Sans decided to do that. 

Sans looked down at his slippers, stained from the red roads in the Hotlands. Doctor Gaster would probably tell him to go into New Home and try something new from there, to enjoy himself. The Doctor was just as compassionate as he was intelligent, he knew how monsters worked and when they needed to rest. He would try hard to make those around him happy. Most monsters would bend over backwards for the guy and yet he chose to put others before his own needs.

Sans couldn't quite wrap his head around why the Doctor acted the way he did. W.D. Gaster was known throughout the Underground and still remained enigmatic to those who saw him on a daily basis. Sans was starting to figure him out though, or at least, he hoped he was. Sans shook the thought out of his head and tightened his jaw. The Doctor wasn't some thing that had to be figured out, or solved like a rubix cube. He was just a regular monster, Sans had to remind himself that often.

Lava bubbled around him as Sans came to another stop in the middle of a empty walkway. The entrance of the Core stood a half mile away, and despite Sans having passed it every day on his way to work, it was more inviting than ever. The skeleton stared at the looming structure, lost in thought.

Why did Doctor Gaster cancel all of his plans if he was just going to do renovations on the Core? With such a brief notice to his colleagues as well. Wouldn't he need a few monsters to help him? Renovations weren't exactly a one monster job, even if the Doctor was the most qualified to do something like that. Sans turned to the path that led to the Core, it was just as desolate as the one he was on now. Sans would just check up on the Doctor, see how he was doing. It wasn't like the Core was out of bounds for him, Doctor Gaster had given him permission to go there whenever he liked. Although that wasn't very often. The skeleton took an uncertain step forward and held fast to the bag by his side. Today would have to just be an exception. 

-

"Hello- shit," Sans hissed after he tripped over a lose panel. The Core really had been in need of some renovations after all. The Core was a hulking, looming presence in the Underground. It powered every home, store and anything in between in the cave system and was designed by Doctor Gaster himself. This was probably going to be the monsters legacy, it would be hard to top something like this.

Steam hissed back at Sans from an exposed pipe and the skeleton yelped. Navigating the labyrinth of steam spitting halls hadn't been Sans' favorite thing. Maybe that was why he never went to the Core in his spare time. It might've been because he didn't like the heat, his joints shifted uncomfortably because of it. Taking his lab coat off Sans continued wandering around, looking for the Doctors familiar figure.

After what felt like hours of wandering, Sans had finally stumbled upon the scientist. Sans was tired and just about ready to head on home when he spotted the Doctor in a small dead end hallway leading to a room filled with steam. It didn't seem to have a floor. Relief washed over Sans, thank god, he could say hi and leave as fast as possible. 

Sans paused before he greeted the monster. Would it be weird if Sans said hi? The Doctor would probably ask him why he was there and then Sans would have to make up an excuse or something about how he was just walking around and happened to find the other to not sound creepy, but Doctor Gaster would probably see through Sans' lies, right? He is a genius after all, Sans was probably an open book to him and-

Some steam hissed near Sans' feet and he yelped again. The Doctor whipped around, stepping back and closer to the edge, one eye wide and panicked. The other covered in a few generous layers of gauze. A deep crimson liquid was seen, visible to anyone as it seeped through the top layer of gauze.

"This area is f-for authorized personnel only a-" Doctor Gaster began scolding the skeleton before realizing he was Sans. "A-ah, Sans, I uh, hello its..."

Sans stood frozen, staring at his superior. Those bandages- that wound, monsters weren't supposed to show damage like that. When did monsters ever bleed? The sight of it sent Sans reeling. The Doctor had to have gotten that recently, the blood- or whatever it was looked fresh.

Gaster looked down at his watch.

"Its eleven in the morning, why are you here? I-I suppose it would be reasonable if it were a bit later b-b-but you arent supposed to be at work f-for another hour or-or so..."

The Doctor looked at Sans with the same wide eye as before, more shaken and uncomfortable than usual.

"Wh-what are you doing here?"

"What happened to your face?" Sans quickly spoke, voice barely above a whisper, his grip on his bag became lose. Doctor Gaster's breath hitched and he averted his eye to some steam by his feet.

"Sans I-I really think it'd be best i-if you left-"

"Doctor I want to help." Sans spoke so much louder than before, it surprised them both. "Whatever happened I can help. I- I know I'm, I'm not- I'm under qualified in the... The medical field but..." His voice echoed through the large empty room as Sans tried to keep is words steady. Everything about this situation was wrong, a feeling of dread clung to his bones and made Sans feel weighed down, heavy. He was trying to avoid addressing how the Doctor was bleeding and that the scientist must have done something to himself to make that possible in hopes of seeming level headed about it. By being calm Sans hoped to ease the clearly panicked scientist down.

"Sans I- I appreciate the offer, h-however I don't think I-it wise to-" The Doctor's voice shook and he took a quick step back. The heel of his shoe scuffed against the lip of the hall and in an instant, his body was falling back. 

"Gaster!" Sans dropped his bag and threw his arm out, lurching forward, blue magic springing to action as he got a hold of Gaster's soul. It took more effort than Sans would ever admit to lift the other monster in the air, he never was the best at blue magic. The two of them were left frozen in place, Gaster was barely able to move because of the magic clinging to his soul and Sans was stiff as a board, all joints locked in place as he struggled to float the Doctor to safety.

Once Gaster's feet were on solid ground Sans took the opportunity to breath- he didn't realize he had stopped doing that when Gaster had tripped. He looked at Gaster, who looked just as breathless as he did. They both didn't speak for a while. Both of them where shaken and tired, despite only being in the Core together for a few minutes. 

Gaster was the first to break the silence.

"Lets... Lets get out of here. Yeah?"

Sans nodded numbly and picked his bag back up, grip loose. Gaster walked to his side, avoiding eye contact, jaw set.

The silence had settled once the two had left the Core, the walk hadn't taken long with Gaster at Sans' side, he knew the labyrinth of halls like the back of his hand. They were both shaken and as anxiety ridden as the other so no one spoke. What was there to say after all that? With Gaster mysteriously injured and bleeding and the near death experience it was hard to find a proper subject to lighten the mood properly. 

"What time is your watch set to?" Gaster was looking at Sans' watch when he took it upon himself to force some conversation upon the two of them. Sans looked at his watch for a second before replying.

"Its 3:46 for me." Sans glanced at Gasters watch. They had the same brand. Gaster 'tasked and started turning the hands on his clock.

"I really should ask everyone to set their clocks at the same time. Just to make sure everyones on the same page. Y-you know, this happens too often. Mix ups with times." Gaster polished the face of the watch with his thumb, the hands now showing 3:46. "This whole situation n-never would have happened if..." The Doctor trailed off, pausing before clearing his throat. "You know, Organization within a workspace is very important. I don't know how we manage with all our clocks different..."

Sans stared at Gaster, eyes wide with bewilder. Maybe the Doctor really wasnt as much of a people person as he was led on to think. Sure, he had the charisma, Gaster could talk about different topics for hours while keeping a conversation interesting, but he didn't seem to know how to handle emotional situations. What to say after something bad happened. After something like that, the time was the last thing Sans expected Gaster to talk about. He almost wanted to continue talking about clocks for as long as Gaster allowed, avoid the elephant in the room, but Sans couldn't do that to either of them.

"We should go to your place, Doctor." The skeleton tiptoed around the clock conversation. Gaster looked at the ground and tried to look somewhat composed. 

"I know you think you don't need help, and I wont talk about what happened if you don't want me to, but you can't pretend like that didn't just happen. Monsters are going to see what happend to you whether or not you want them to. I mean, unless you plan on staying hidden away forever so no one can see it." The light in his eyes wandered to Gaster's poorly wrapped bandages. "It would be hard to do that though. It would take a lot to make monsters ignore you." Sans kept looking at Gaster, searching for anything that would give away how the other was feeling, trying to figure him out once again. 

The two walked for a while longer, Gaster seemed to be mulling over his options. The whole 'disappearing off the face of the earth' idea was very appealing to the Doctor, but of course that would be impossible, just like Sans said. It would be better if Gaster just got help for once. Get it over with quickly like ripping off a bandaid.

"I have some tea at my apartment. Whats your favorite kind?" Gaster spoke quietly.

"Green tea is nice." Sans gave the Doctor a small, thoughtful smile.

Gaster nodded. "I have a lot of green tea."

Sans and Gaster began walking to Gaster's apartment complex, talking about tea and first aid supplies and clocks.


End file.
